Unheard
by MarauderFan4ever
Summary: When Lili, a deaf girl from Gondor, gets a chance at a new life, it falls on the duty of Legolas to take care of her. However, not everyone is happy about this arrangement, namely Legolas. And so begins an adventure, with love, sadness, and sarcasm.
1. Different From the Rest

Authors Note- Hi. The first thing that I am going to point out is that I am co-writing this with my friend CB. We're only posting it on my profile. This story is a story that has the classic Legolas/mortal girl ship. Except ours is no ordinary fic. We really can't tell you why, because that would give away the plot... If there is a plot... We're not sure. Or are we? ON WITH THE STORY!  
  
Chapter 1 Different From the Rest  
  
Babies born at least three months early were quite rare in Middle Earth. On the off chance that one was born too soon, it was not common for it to survive. However, one child was not the same. Born with a will to live, the girl Lili changed the thoughts of many and came into the world with a destiny that would be different from all the rest. She seemed the same as the other children, and yet, she was different. For though most of her body was normal, to her, no sound went unheard. The softest noise was as loud as the knocking on a door. Talking was ear-splitting, and screaming was unbearable. For twelve years she lived like this, and then it all ended.  
  
By this time, Gondor was in distress. With no king, Nazgul attacked the capital city openly. During these times, Lili's parents made sure to keep their daughter inside, so as not to damage her hearing further. But then one day, Lili was running an errand for her mother, when she heard such an unnatural sound that to her, it shook the Earth like a terrible force. Screaming, she fell to her knees and covered her ears so to protect her fragile hearing. But nothing could shield her ears from the Nazgul cry. To her horror, the sound came again, and it was so deafening that something inside her, like glass, began to break.  
  
And then it shattered, leaving her mind to forever be silent.  
  
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As she did every day, sixteen-year-old Lili walked to get the day's water from a nearby well. As she looked around, she saw the activity of the people of Gondor. It saddened her to think that she could not hear any of it. The only thing she could hear was the echoing of her thoughts, and it was not the same. Arriving at the well, she gazed at her reflection. She studied herself in the water. Staring back at her was a girl with dirty blonde hair, emerald eyes, and a slim figure. She sighed, and began to fill her bucket with water.  
  
When she was little, Lili had always made a wish before leaving the well. They had been small, silly wishes. Once she had wished for a pony every day for a month. When she got older, she determined that wishes were for children and only made one when it was extremely important. And when she lost her hearing, she stopped wishing altogether, because she knew that all the wishes in the world could not return her ears to normal.  
  
Lili finished filling her bucket and turned to leave. But as she did, the bucket was wrenched out of her hands by a boy her age. Grinning evilly, he dumped the water onto her. His group of friends began to pelt her with mud as the leader filled the bucket and again splashed it on her. Lili tried to defend herself, but she was hopelessly outnumbered and had the disadvantage.  
  
This happened all the time. For you see, Lili was shunned by her society. A girl with no ear power did not belong in Minas Trith. The adults ignored her and kept their young children away from her, while the people her age humiliated her in all ways possible. It was cruel, but she didn't have the power to stop it. No one did. No one, that is, but the king.  
  
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King Aragorn rode through the streets of his city, inspecting. He was making sure nothing was going wrong. The city was slowly rebuilding itself and he wanted to be sure that it went well. These were now his people. He looked about him and noticed that the streets barely had any people on them. That was because everyone was watching the fight that was going on with our friend Lili, but of course he didn't know that.  
  
So he went on, noting with satisfaction that much of the city was rebuilt. But he then heard several cries and shouts that were sounding from down an alley. He frowned and rode over to the crowd.  
  
No one saw him at first, so he was given the opportunity to see several boys throw mud and dump water on a girl, who was starting to cry in pain and the mud thrashed her skin and the dirty water ran into her eyes. Aragorn frowned. His eyes followed another girl who ran out of a nearby house and kicked, punched, (and yelled) at the boys who were tormenting the poor girl. She broke them all apart and was rewarded with a bloody nose and lip, not to mention several bruises all over her.  
  
Someone finally noticed that their King was standing among them and bolted from the area. And then another, and another, and another, and another, until the only people left in the alley were the girl who had gotten beaten and the other girl who did some of the beating.  
  
He jumped down from his horse and landed softly on his feet. Aragorn walked over to the girl who was lying on the ground, momentarily ignoring the other girl, and whispered to her, "Are you alright?" he asked. The girl stared up at her King with wide-eyed. Aragorn stared back. "Are you?" he asked again.  
  
The girl looked beyond his face for a moment and then her eyes widened in understanding. She lifted her hands and began to move them, like she was signaling to Aragorn. And then to his utter amazement, a voice came out clear and strong from somewhere behind him.  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am alright now, thanks to my friend." Aragorn stood up and looked around and then stared at the other girl who was, in fact, ignoring the King and staring intently at her friend. (or he assumed was her friend)  
  
She began to move her hands again and Aragorn listened as the same strong voice sounded. "My name is Lili, your highness. And this woman who I own my eternal gratitude to is my friend Aria."  
  
"Why were those boys beating you up?" he asked, feeling quite confused at what was going on. Lili did not raise her hands to move them again, but simply stared at Aria, who had not moved either. Aria simply said,  
  
"Because she can't hear anything you're saying."  
  
"What?" Aragorn's brows furrowed together. "I don't understand."  
  
"When Lili was a kid, she heard a Nazgul cry and it damaged her ears, so now she can't hear anything." Aria explained.  
  
"That's horrible...different."  
  
"And the different is why people torment her, make fun of her, and make her life miserable." Aria walked over to Lili and offered her a hand, which she took. "But thanks for asking." Aragorn decided to ignore that last comment.  
  
"What were you doing earlier...with your hands?"  
  
"It's a language that her parents and I have devised that allows us to communicate with her. For example," she said, all business. "There are different signs for names, but for names or words that have no sign, you can spell them out. Like your name." Aragorn raised his eyebrows.  
  
To demonstrate, Aria lifted her free hand and made gestures, while spelling out, "E-L-E-S-S-A-R".  
  
Aragorn blinked. This was not expected. He forgot at times that he was Elessar now. "But it is not proper to address a king that way."  
  
Aria sighed impatiently. "I wasn't finished." She then pantomimed putting a crown on her head. "That's the sign for 'king'."  
  
"What's 'queen'?" Aragorn asked before he could stop himself. He was interested now.  
  
"There isn't one." Aria said shortly. "Please excuse us, your Majesty, but we need to leave now." And with that, she turned around and marched towards her house, Lili trailing behind her. Before she went inside, Lili turned around and shyly waved at him. Aragorn didn't move until she was gone. Then he got back on his horse and rode back up to his castle, plans of inspecting forgotten.  
  
This was troubling him. He hated to see people hurt, but what could he do about a girl with no hearing? He could decree that no one could harm people like Lili, but he didn't know of any others. He hadn't even known of her. What kind of a king was he, if he didn't take care of his people? But Gondor was so large, it was impossible to know every single citizen, and he was a new king. But what did excuses mean to a teenage girl tormented by her society? For a long time, Aragorn sat on a balcony overlooking the city. And that was where the queen found him.  
  
"What is wrong?" Arwen asked, sitting beside him.  
  
"I went through the city today, and one person had no hearing." Aragorn told her.  
  
"Old men and women lose their hearing as they age. Why does this worry you?" Arwen touched his hand, a look of concern on her face.  
  
He took her hand in his. "This person is a girl only about sixteen. She was being beaten up by a group of boys. They hurt her just because she's different."  
  
Arwen pondered this. "Perhaps," she said slowly, "Not all are meant to live among their kind, like Master Frodo."  
  
Aragorn thought back to the small Hobbit who had left with the Elves. After such a journey, such a struggle, he had not been able to fit back into the simple life he had once led. Maybe Lili was the same. "Yes..."  
  
"Master Greenleaf is coming." Arwen stated.  
  
Aragorn gave her a puzzled look. What did Legolas have to do with this? Then it dawned on him. "You mean, Legolas should take her back to Mirkwood with him?"  
  
Arwen smiled, nodding. "Yes. It will not matter to the Elves if she cannot hear, and they might be able to heal her."  
  
The King stood. "I want her to stay in the castle until Legolas gets here."  
  
"I will retrieve her. Tell me where she lives." Arwen got to her feet.  
  
"By a well, in a square. I should go-"Aragorn was stopped by his queen.  
  
"No. I shall get her." Arwen walked away. Aragorn sat back down. Was this truly a good idea?  
  
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Later that evening, Aria was still seething. How dare they pick on her friend just because she's different? It was inhuman. This was Lili's worst beating yet. She couldn't take much more of this. Aria frowned as she watched her mother and Lili's mother bandage various parts of Lili's beaten and bruised body. 'It was a good thing that King Elessar showed up. Otherwise, I don't know what would have happened.'  
  
"Aria, could you please stir the soup?" her mother asked.  
  
"Yes, Mother." Aria said, walking over to the kettle and stirred the soup with a wooden spoon.  
  
A knock sounded at the front (and only) door.  
  
"Aria..."  
  
"I'll get it." Aria went to the door, carrying the soup so she could continue to stir it. She opened it and said, "Hello, how may I...help...you..."  
  
In front of her was none other than the Queen of Gondor herself. Aria immediately dropped to one knee, letting go of the bowl so it clattered to the floor and spilled everywhere, but mostly on the hem of the Queen's dress.  
  
Aria's mother came into the room. "Darn it, Aria, I thought I told you to be careful! You know we don't have much to spare as it is...Your Majesty." She followed Aria and kneeled on the floor, carefully avoiding the puddles of soup. "To what do we owe this gracious visit?"  
  
Arwen bent down. "I am sorry to have made you spill your soup." She moved to mop up the mess with her cloak.  
  
"No! Please, don't trouble yourself." Aria's mother nudged her child. "Go get a rag." Aria nodded, stood, and left.  
  
Lili worriedly glanced from her friend to the Queen. 'What's going on?' she signed.  
  
'I don't know.' Her mother signed back.  
  
Arwen saw this, and stood up slowly, her gaze fixed on Lili. "Is she the girl with no hearing?"  
  
Lili's mother put a protective arm around her daughter. "Why do you want her?"  
  
"My king wishes for that girl to come live in the castle until his friend, the Elf known as Legolas Greenleaf, arrives." Arwen explained.  
  
"Your Majesty, please come in." Aria's mother hurriedly said, moving to let her in.  
  
A few moments later, the five of them were sitting at the table. Lili and Aria sat side-by-side, so Aria could translate what everyone was saying. The mothers were on the other side, and Arwen sat at the head. They sat in silence for a moments, when Aria suddenly said, "Excuse me for being blunt, but why are you here-"her mother frowned. "-Your Majesty. I mean, we know why, but why do you care so much?"  
  
"You encountered my husband on your way home from the well earlier, did you not?"  
  
'Yes' Lili signed as Aria spoke the word aloud.  
  
"He was quite angry and upset for a long time at what he saw and heard." Arwen told them.  
  
"And...?" Aria asked. Her mother scowled at her.  
  
Arwen smiled faintly. "He wishes for your daughter to get away from her life of cruelty by going with Master Greenleaf to live with the Elves.  
  
Aria signed it to Lili. Her face lit up. She turned to Arwen. Arwen did not need words to know that the girl wished to go. Lili frantically began to sign, which Aria promptly translated.  
  
"Your Majesty, I cannot thank you and the King enough! Elves. Imagine! Elves, Aria!" Aria laughed and signed something back, which made Lili blush and give a silent giggle.  
  
"What did you say?" Arwen wondered.  
  
"I said, 'I can imagine Elves. One is sitting right next to me.'." Aria grinned.  
  
"Wait." Lili's mother had a worried face. "How do we know we can trust this Master Greenleaf?"  
  
"Do you trust your King?" Arwen's voice had become hard.  
  
"Yes, of course, but-"  
  
"And do you trust your Queen?"  
  
"Yes, Your Majesty, I do, but-"  
  
"Then you can trust Master Greenleaf." Arwen stood. "I will be taking Lili to the castle now."  
  
Aria signed this, and Lili also stood. She smiled at the Queen, who led her towards the door.  
  
"No!!"  
  
It was not Lili's mother, it was Aria. "Lili's not going anywhere without me! She needs a translator! And going away all by herself..."  
  
Arwen knew who this young Aria reminded her of. Master Samwise Gamgee. She was willing to go with Lili without really knowing anything, just like Sam. It made her smile. Truly, friendship was an amazing thing.  
  
"Alright, Mistress Aria, you may come too." Arwen said with a nod. She waited as the girls said good-bye to their mothers before heading outside to the horses. The horses that would take them to the castle, and their new lives.  
  
Authors Note- Okay, so what did you think? Leave us a review. It's kind of hard to write this, since neither of us are deaf, so any suggestion (constructive critisim please) would be welcome. Oh, and I don't know if you noticed or not, but what people are signing will be in one quote and what people say will be in two. Thoughts I believe are either in italics or in one quote. Thanks!  
  
CB and Private Lizzie 


	2. Fiery Temper

Note to You- I AM SOOO sorry. I know the last time we updated was like forever ago and it's mostly my fault that it didn't get up sooner. Again, I'm sorry. Anyway, we had a really hard time trying to write this chapter. We started this chapter with Legolas riding on his horse, like five times. Well that ended with him dying. So we thought that we should just start with something else. One more thing, I was wondering if you could tell when we switch writers. Like some parts we write together and then others we write separate and the edit for each other. I just wanted to know. Cuz if you can't, then that's really good.

Disclaimer- Oh, like we own anything. Well, we own Aria and Lili, but other than that, we have squat. Nothing...at all.

Chapter 2: Fiery Temper

No matter how many times he met people in here, Aragorn still couldn't get over how BIG his throne room was. In fact, it was bugging him. But he had no time to think about this, because Aragorn had to find some way to tell Legolas he had two teenage girls to take care of, one of which couldn't talk or hear.

Aragorn began to think of ways to "break the news" to Legolas. 'Legolas, what are your opinions on children?', or 'Legolas, do you enjoy or travelling alone or with others?', or perhaps 'Legolas, you're my best friend, will you please consider doing me a small favor?'. There was a tap on his shoulder. With a surprised yell, he whirled around.

"Legolas!"

"Hello Aragorn, no excuse me, King Aragorn." Legolas said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I scared you." He was trying not to laugh.

"There's a difference between scared and surprised." Aragorn told him.

"You were scared, admit it." Legolas grinned before he burst out laughing.

"I wasn't scared, and it's not funny, Legolas!" Aragorn said, loudly. Legolas continued to laugh. Aragorn began to chuckle, and before long he was laughing too.

"Master Greenleaf has only just arrived, and already you have had a bottle of Elvish wine?"

The stopped laughing and turned around. Arwen had come in. Legolas bowed. "Good day, Queen."

"Good day to you as well, Master Greenleaf." Arwen said with a regal nod. "Why were the two of you laughing?"

"I scared him!" Legolas started to laugh again.

"Legolas, please clam down." Arwen requested calmly.

"I am sorry my friend. I have been without company for a long time." Legolas apologized.

"Understandable. How is your father?" Arwen asked.

"He is well." Legolas shrugged.

"Good. Now, when will you be returning?" Aragorn inquired.

"Already thinking wistfully of my leaving?" Legolas smirked.

"No, I just have some...companions I would like you to take back with you." Aragorn said carefully.

"Oh really?" Legolas raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. Arwen?" Aragorn turned to her.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Would you mind so much as to go find them?" Aragorn wondered.

"Of course." Aragorn walked out of the throne room.

So Legolas and Aragorn patiently waited for Arwen to return. And waited, and waited, and waited. When Arwen did return, she simply said, "I cannot find them."

"What?" Aragorn exclaimed.

"They seem to have, for lack of a better word, disappeared." Arwen looked slightly worried.

"What do you mean, disappeared-?"

But Aragorn was cut off by the sound of a door creaking open. Two girls wandered in. One girl was moving her hands very quietly.

The other girl moved her hands and said aloud, "No Lili, I don't think this is the bathroom."

Aria had wanted to explore, and Lili had needed to find a bathroom. So they had left their room. But they had gotten terribly lost, though they had gotten food when they had wandered through the kitchen. They were just about ready to give up, when Lili had spotted a small door. Thinking it might lead to a bathroom, or at least the servants quarters where they could ask about a bathroom, they went in. It had of course, turned out to be a side entrance to the throne room.

"Were you looking for us, your Majesty?" Aria asked, signing what she was saying.

"Yes. My friend, Legolas Greenleaf, has arrived." Aragorn gestured to Legolas who frowned slightly and bowed.

Lili giggled. 'He's kinda cute.'

Aria elbowed her. 'Lili!"

'Well, it's not like they know what we're signing.' Lili retorted.

"What are they doing with their hands?" Legolas whispered to Aragorn.

"It's a sign language." Aragorn answered.

"Oh. Who devised this sign-language?" he asked.

"Aria and Lili's parents." Aragorn then noticed that the two girls were still laughing. "Does something amuse you?" he asked rather sharply.

"N-n-nothing." Aria stuttered, trying not to laugh.

Lili slowly walked up to where Aragorn and Legolas stood. She began to sign and Aria came up to stand next to her friend.

"I am very pleased to meet you my Lord," Aria said aloud while Lili signed it "My name is Lili, and this is my friend Aria." The two of them did a some what smooth curtsy and then looked over at Aragorn, waiting for Legolas to speak.

"Hello." Legolas offered his hand to Aria.

Aragorn gently moved his hand towards Lili. "That's Lili, and that's Aria."

"Oh." He offered Lili his hand, which she shook. He then offered his hand to Aria, but she seemed to know that he was important or something, so she merely nodded. They all stood there in a silence for a few minutes. Legolas wasn't sure what to say around someone who was deaf. And apparently neither did Aragorn.

Lili suspected this. 'Tell them we are excited about the trip.' She signed.

Aria nodded. "We a re excited about this trip, your Majesty and..." she wasn't sure what to call Legolas.

Thankfully, Arwen, who had been standing by the door, came over and said, "Master Greenleaf, you must be tired. I will take the girls on an exploration of the castle. You and Aragorn can talk." And with that, she herded the teenagers out of the throne room.

Lili tugged on Aria's sleeve. 'I still have to go to the bathroom!'

Legolas waited for the others to leave before whirling on Aragorn. "What is going on?"

"Well, you remember when I told you that I would like it very much if you took two companions home with you?"

"Yes..." Legolas said slowly.

"Well, those two girls are the companions."

"Are they now?" Legolas looked neither angry nor happy at this arrangement.

"Yes."

"If I may be so bold, why am I being asked to take them to my ELVEN home?" Legolas' eyebrows raised.

"Because Lili is being treated very poorly." Aragorn said gravely. "The people in the city treat her like a monster . She doesn't fit in. I thought that perhaps the Elves would accept her, and maybe even heal her."

"What about the other one?" Legolas asked.

"Aria...well, she's one of the few who know the sign-language, and she's Lili's best friend and won't let her go anywhere without her..." Aragorn trailed off.

There was a moment of silence. "You will take them, won't you?" Aragorn wondered.

Legolas' sigh was so quiet that Aragorn didn't hear it. "Of course. I'd be happy to."

Aragorn grinned in a relived sort of way. "Thank you. This means a lot to them."

"You mean it means a lot to you."

"Ah, well yes. That too." Aragorn cleared his throat. "You must be tired, would you like to retire to your room until lunch?"

Legolas smiled to himself, knowing full well that Aragorn knew he was not tired. "Yes, thank you." He said politely, instead of making a smart remark.

Lili came out of the bathroom and sighed. (Although she couldn't hear herself.)

'That's much better.' She signed to Aria, who translated for Arwen.

Arwen gave a soft chuckle and smiled. "I'm glad. Would you like a tour of the castle now?"

"Yes please!" Aria said while signing and Lili nodded her head eagerly.

By the end of the tour, all the girls could do was stare open-mouthed at Arwen.

'That was amazing!' Lili signed.

Arwen nodded and smiled. "Yes, I suppose it is. But if you like this place, you should have seen my home of Rivendell. It was beautiful." She smiled wistfully. "And Mirkwood is even more beautiful."

"Well, we can't wait to get there." Aria told her. "That is, if Lord Legolas agrees to take us there."

"Lord Legolas is a kind Elf." Arwen assured them. "I am sure he will take you two back to Mirkwood." Just then, a gong sounded. "It is time for lunch." Arwen began to walk away. "Follow me."

"That's all we can hope for." Aria said to herself without signing it to Lili.

'This is more food than we've ever had in one meal.' Lili signed to Aria.

'I know.' She signed back, then picked up a tomato and bit into it.

Lili glanced at the door. 'Why is that man standing there?'

Aria shrugged. 'No clue.'

'He's creeping me out.' Lili shuddered.

'I think he's kinda cute.' Aria nudged her, giggling.

Aragorn, Legolas, and Arwen ate in silence, watching the girls sign to each other.

"Do you have any idea what they're saying?" Legolas whispered to Aragorn.

"Not a one." He whispered back.

The two burst into giggles, making the others more uncomfortable. There was a cough behind them.

"Your Majesty, if I may say so, the food looks delicious."

Aragorn turned around. "Faramir! Why are you standing there?"

"I thought that since Master Greenleaf was here, you wouldn't want Eowyn and I to eat with you." Faramir told him.

"So you stood by the door?" Aragorn raised an eyebrow.

"Eowyn made me." Faramir ducked his head.

"She didn't want to cook?" Aria asked, signing away.

Faramir seemed surprised to see Lili and Aria. "Master Greenleaf brought friends?"

"No." Legolas said sternly, almost glaring at the girls. Aria saw this and narrowed her eyes.

"No sir, we are just peasants that His Majesty has asked Legolas to take back with him." Aria glared at the Elf. "But we are unwanted."

"I never said that!" Legolas said, his voice rising.

"But you were thinking it!" Aria shouted.

Lili grabbed her arm. 'I don't know what you're saying but I know it's not good. Please stop!'

'No.' Aria shook her off, then turned back to Legolas. "You're just some prissy Elf who has no concern for people outside your race!"

"I had no concerns for others, would I be here right now?" Legolas asked, still in a slightly louder voice.

"Her Majesty is an Elf, and to you, His Majesty is one!" Aria stood, knocking over her chair.

"What about the others? The Hobbits, and Gimli? I care about them." Legolas pointed out.

"Then why won't you care about us?!" Aria screamed. Her voice echoed throughout the room. "We haven't braved Orcs, or fought armies, or journeyed to the unknown! Does that make us unworthy of your time?!" She turned and stalked out of the room, but before closing the door, she looked over her shoulder and said, "The food was delicious, thank you very much, Your Majesties." And with that, she slammed the door.

Author's Note- Dun dun dun. What's going to happen now? Review (and I mean ALL of you!) Maybe this time we'll be able to update faster, but you know what? It always makes us write faster (and hopefully) and post faster.

Review!

CB & and Lizzie


	3. All it Takes is a Pillow Fight

Note to you- Well at least this time it didn't take a few moths. This time it was only a week or two. Thank-you to all who reviewed. You don't know how happy this makes me and CB. Even more me, because I'm always so afraid that someone will flame because Lili's too young, blah, blah, blah, but you don't know what's going to happen, do you? So there you go. Just because we don't wanna get sued, we don't own anything. And on with the story.

**Chapter 3**

All it Takes is a Pillow Fight

Lili was pissed. Really pissed. Their chances of leaving might be ruined, all because Aria had lost her temper. And, to make it worse, she'd left her in the hall with three people who couldn't understand her at all. The only way she'd been able to leave was by pointing at the door. Lili opened the door to their room. Aria was sitting on the bed, screaming into her pillow. Lili put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. She couldn't hear the sound, of course, but when she had been able to hear, she'd been the best whistler out of all the children who lived by her. Aria turned, her face red with anger.

'Why do you always have to do that?!' Lili signed, her face conveying the emotions her hands could not.

'People get mad, Lili. It happens.' Aria replied. She turned away and hugged the pillow to her chest.

Lili got even more pissed. Aria turning away was like someone had said, "End of conversation.". She couldn't see Lili, therefore couldn't see what she was saying. Lili strode in, slamming the door shut behind her. She saw Aria flinch, but the girl did not turn. Lili grabbed Aria's shoulders and whirled her around. 'What's your problem?!'

'He doesn't want us to go with him.' Aria told her. 'So I gave him a piece of my mind.'

Aria hugged the pillow tighter and buried her face in it. She also knew that the chances of them going now were slim. Lili sat down on the bed beside her.

'I'm sorry.' Aria apologized. 'You know how I get.'

'All too well.' Lili replied, smiling. 'What did you tell him anyway?'

'Oh...nothing.' Aria lifted her head up and grinned.

Lili flopped down on the bed. 'These things are huge.'

Aria lay down beside her. 'Yeah...And what better way to use such a large bed than to have a-' She whacked Lili with her pillow. 'Pillow fight!'

'Hey! No fair, I don't have-!' Lili was cut off by Aria throwing a pillow at her head.

'Nya!' Aria stuck her tongue out.

An all-out war raged between them, as they leaped up and down on the bed, chased each other around the room, and hid in the large wardrobe. At one point, Aria opened their door and escaped. They ran all along the corridor, only stopping when they crashed into someone else.

"Ouch!"

It was that man who had been standing by the door during lunch. Faramir, had they said? He sat up, rubbing his head. Aria and Lili froze. They'd knocked over someone important! This was not good.

"Sorry, sir. We didn't see you." Aria said politely.

"His Majesty sent me to check on you, but you seem to be fine." He stood, brushing himself off.

"We were just..." How could they explain this? Aria and Lili exchanged glances as Aria signed.

Faramir picked up a pillow. "Having a pillow fight?"

They nodded sheepishly. He smiled. "My brother and I used to do this all the time, when we were little."

Aria threw her pillow at him. He blocked it. 'He's-' A pillow hit her in the face. "Hey!"

'This means war!' Lili signed. Aria nodded. Grinning rather evilly, they attacked.

And the fight continued.

* * *

It had been awkward when the girls had been signing to each other, but it was even more awkward when it was just Lili. When she had pointed at the door, they eagerly let her leave. As soon as the girl was gone, Arwen turned and hit Legolas on the shoulder. 

"Why won't you take them?!" she demanded.

"I-"Legolas began. She hit him again.

"Why won't you take them?!" Arwen cried.

Aragorn grabbed her arm before she struck him again. "Calm down. And stop hitting Legolas."

"Yes, please stop hitting me." Legolas rubbed his shoulder. "It hurts."

Arwen crossed her arms and resorted to glaring at him. "Explain."

"It's kind of complicated."

"Try me." Arwen raised her eyebrow.

"Well, to tell the truth, I'm worried for them."

"Worried?" Arwen asked, looking surprised. "Why would you be worried?"

"To put it simply, my father doesn't exactly...enjoy the company of humans." Legolas confessed.

"That's not the impression I got from him." Aragorn said.

"When did you see him?"

"It was back when I was still a ranger." Aragorn leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "He had seemed to have a friendly attitude towards Men, and he didn't even know me then."

"I would appear that way wouldn't it? But he likes you." Legolas' face took on a serious expression. "I know my father, and he has the same prejudice that most Elves have against the race of Men. They just think they're better then them and excuse me for saying this, but in a way they are, we are."

"I understand that, but do you think that he would really do anything if Lili and Aria just showed up with you?"

"I'm not really sure." Legolas confessed.

"I don't think that he would if Lili and Aria were good friends of the King, would he?" A voice said from behind them.

"Faramir! Did you leave?" Aragorn looked confused.

"Er-yes. I sort of snuck out to leave the....awkward situation that had just presented itself. Bur Eowyn sent me back here."

"Ah. I see. What did you mean by 'good friend'?" Aragorn asked curiously.

"Well," Faramir slowly, walking closer to the three of them, "If His Majesty King Thranduil thought that Aragorn thought of the two girls to be worthy of living in his Elven sanctuary, then he would really have no choice but to play nice, would he?"

"Yes," Aragorn said, a slow smile appearing on his face. "He would."

Arwen spoke suddenly. "Faramir, would you be so kind as to go check on the girls, to make sure their okay?"

"Of course." And with that, Faramir once again left the hall.

Arwen turned to Legolas. "I think you should apologize also Legolas."

"I have one nothing wrong, why should I apologize?" Legolas said hotly. "I only had their best interests in mind."

"Yes, but they don't know that." Arwen said gently. "And I know that if you told them why you said what you did, then the journey to Mirkwood will be a whole lot easier."

"If it even takes place." Legolas muttered.

"It will, and you will be on good terms with **both** Lili and Aria. So I suggest you go talk to them now." Aragorn said in his most commanding voice.

"Fine, I am leaving." Legolas walked stiffly out of the hall.

"Husband, I do no think you are supposed to use your King voice on our friends." Arwen said in a reprimanding tone.

"But it worked didn't it?" Aragorn grinned, his eyes twinkling merrily.

"Yes." Arwen smiled back, leaning over to kiss him. "It did."

* * *

It suddenly occurred to Legolas that he had no idea where the girls would be. He figured he could catch up with Faramir and go with him. But Faramir had disappeared. He considered going back and asking Aragorn, but decided against that. He could find the room by himself. Hopefully... 

As it turned out, he couldn't find the room by himself. He ended up wandering around, not exactly sure of where he was going. He had a glimmer of hope when a servant girl came his way.

"Excuse me." He stopped her. "But do you know the way to the room that Ladies Lili and Aria are staying in?"

She gave him a look. "Who?

"The peasant girl who can't hear and her friend." Legolas said.

A look of recognition dawned on the girl's face. "Oh, those two. They're not in their room, my Lord."

Dead end. "Well, then where are they?" Legolas asked.

She shrugged. "Who knows? Excuse me." The girl left, and Legolas was exactly where he started from.

He continued to walk along. He was so absorbed with trying to find the girls, that he didn't see the flurry of feathers and people running in his direction until they crashed into him.

"How many people are we going to keep knocking down?" A familiar voice said.

It was the girls and Faramir, laughing and holding pillows that had become quite un-stuffed. Legolas just stared at them. Faramir suddenly stopped laughing and left, apparently embarrassed.

"Hello ladies. May I ask what you were doing?" Legolas inquired, standing up.

Aria translated to Lili. Both grinned, then pointed at Faramir's retreating back. "He started it." Aria told him. Legolas was sure that if Lili could talk, she'd be saying the exact same thing.

Lili moved her hands. Aria began translating. "'It's quite fortunate we ran into you, because Aria has something to say to you.'?! I do not!" Lili glared at her, making a quick hand gesture.

Aria sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Lord Legolas, for shooting my bloody mouth off at you during lunch." She signed something to Lili, and Legolas suspected it was a much more polite version of what she had said.

"Actually, you had every right to yell at me." Legolas told her.

Aria stopped signing and lit up. "Really?" Lili apparently guessed what she had said, and whacked her. "Ow!"

"Yes." He studied them. "Do you want to get off the floor?"

They got up. "Want to tell us why I was entitled to bite your head off?" Aria asked.

Legolas started walking forward, gesturing for them to walk with him. After a bit of walking, he began to explain. "You may not know this, but my father is King of Mirkwood."

Lili stopped dead in her tracks. She signed something. Which Aria promptly translated. 'So you're a prince!'" She continued to sign, but Aria didn't say anything. They had a conversation in sign language for a few minutes, until Legolas coughed. They walked on.

"As I was saying, my father is King, and he doesn't like Men very much." Legolas continued.

"Ah, but we're not men, we're young ladies!" Aria told him, smiling.

"That doesn't matter. So, I have a bit of pressure on me. There's my father, who will be angry if I bring you two with me, and King Aragorn, who'll be angry if I don't. I didn't want you two to come because I wasn't sure what my father would do. But now that the King and I have worked it all out, you should be fine." Legolas finished.

"'So, we're going to Mirkwood?'" Aria asked for Lili.

"Yes." He replied.

Lili suddenly threw her arms around him and hugged him. He stiffened slightly, not sure of what to do. Thankfully, Aria pried her friend off him.

"That means 'Thank-you.'" She told him.

Legolas nodded, a bit embarrassed. Lili looked even more so, her whole face was pink. "We'll be going now." Aria said, leading the other girl away. "Good-bye, your Highness." Aria called over her shoulder.

Legolas stood there. He waited until they had turned a corner before brushing himself off. That had been even more awkward than lunch!

"Well, _that_ was interesting."

Legolas turned around. Faramir was leaning against a wall, smirking.

"How do you do that?" Legolas asked, quite surprised.

"I have my ways." Faramir said with a shrug.

Legolas thought a moment. "There are secret passages, aren't there?" he guessed.

"Yes." Faramir nodded. "Now, you are wanted back with Their Majesties."

"May I ask why?" Legolas inquired, following Faramir as he started to walk away.

"Oh, I believe the King is determined to beat you at chess." Faramir pulled a tapestry on the wall back, revealing a set of stairs. "And the Queen wants to laugh at him when you win."

Note- And that's the end. Review and we'll just HAVE to post faster, so REVIEW!!! ...PLEASE!!!

Another Note: Ha ha, this is CB...I never get my own note, so I'm putting one in. MWHAHA!! (cough cough) Um...I apologize to all Faramir fangirls, because he seems so...so...out of character. But I'm so used to writing people OOC...like Jack...poor guy...Um. Remind me again what the point of this was? I'll just go now... (sneaks off)


	4. Confessions

Author's Note-Hey, this be CB and I get to write all the author's notes this chappie! Whoo! Anywho, when it says Lili is saying something to someone, but it's in '' and not "", it means Aria's translating as Lili's signing…Yes that's confusing, but when you see it in the story, you'll understand. Oh-and writing is italics.

* * *

Chapter 4: Confessions

A very tense week past. And by 'tense', I mean that there was a great deal of arguing involved. For instance, Lili was scared to death of horses. Therefore, Legolas and Aria had a rather large argument about whether to ride or walk to Mirkwood. Eventually Aragorn pointed out that it was faster to ride than walk, so they should just shut up. And then there was a disagreement between Arwen and Legolas, which started in Common language but as it increased, became Elvish. Nobody was quite sure what they were yelling about, but it seemed to have started out with Legolas saying something about how Arwen seemed to be having mood swings. There were problems with packing, traveling, food, translation…Everyone was very glad by the end of the week that Legolas and the girls were leaving the next day. They all just had to survive one more night.

"Arwen, please come out of the bedroom." Aragorn begged. His wife had been in there for over an hour.

"No!" she shouted.

"Whatever you said to her this time, it must have been bad." Aria told Legolas.

"I didn't say anything!"

"Sure." Aria nodded her head.

Legolas opened his mouth, but Lili nudged him rather forcefully in the ribs and he said nothing. She began signing to him.

'The last thing we need right now is for you two to start another argument.' She looked over at Aragorn, who looked very silly yelling through a door at his normally very peacefully wife.

"Arwen, please come out! He couldn't have said something that bad!" Aragron scowled at Legolas.

"Auta miqula orqu, Legolas!"

Aragorn's eyes widened and he tried to hide a grin while Legolas just stared at the door.

"But I never do anything!" Aria protested, not bothering to ask what Arwen had said. "He always starts it all!"

Lili merely shook her head angrily and turned to Aragorn.

'Majesty, perhaps it would be best if we let her majesty alone for a while.' she suggested.

Aragorn sighed. "I think you are right. I will talk to her later." He surveyed Legolas and Aria. "But for now I would like to have a talk with the two of you. Come with me." He strode purposefully away. Legolas and Aria followed. Lili did too, until they rounded a corner, and she went back to Arwen's room.

She knocked on the door softly.

"Aragorn, please leave. I'd like to be alone."

Well, of course Lili had no idea what she had said, so she just knocked again.

Inside the room, Arwen frowned. It was unlike her husband to push her into talking to him. It couldn't be Legolas, he would have said something rude by now. Maybe it was Lili. And as Arwen walked over to open the door, she found herself hoping it was she. The girl seemed to have a calm about her. A calm that Arwen had been struggling to find for the past week. She hadn't really been feeling herself and Legolas asking stupid questions was not helping.

She opened the door to find that, indeed, Lili was standing there. Arwen beckoned her inside, seeing that she clearly wanted to speak with her.

It was then that both Lili and Arwen realized that they had no means of communicating with each other. Arwen hurried across the room to fetch a scroll and a quill. Lili followed her closely and they both sat down at a desk.

Hello. Arwen wrote on the paper.

Hello your highness. Lili wrote slowly. She only barely knew how to write. How could one write when she could barely remember the sounds that the letters made? _I hope you are feeling a little better towards Prince Legolas._

Arwen smiled. _Not really. He said something very rude to me._

May I ask what? Lili was a bit shocked at herself for being so bold with her queen.

Arwen blushed a deep shade of red. _He asked...well, he asked if I was pregnant._

Lili's mouth dropped open. _Why would he ask such a private thing?_

Because he doesn't think before he speaks.. Arwen wrote with a scowl.

Lili tried not to giggle, but allowed herself a small smile. _Well I hope he would never ask me such thing._

Somehow I wouldn't put it past him.

The two of them paused. Lili seemed to be debating something inside her head.

May I tell you something? She wrote finally.

Of course Lili. You can tell me anything.

I'm scared.

Arwen paused. What did she say to that? What did she say to a young woman who was going to a place where she didn't know anyone? Where there wasn't a single person from her own race, besides her best friend? Where the race who lived there might not even like her? What was she supposed to say?

You have to try to not be afraid.

How do I do that? Lili looked up at Arwen with her round blue eyes that were full of fear.

Have faith. Have faith in yourself, in the Elven race, in Aria, and in Legolas.

Why Legolas? Lili was confused now. She had gotten the impression that Arwen did not like her husband's friend.

Arwen laughed. _I know it appears that I do not like Legolas, but I do. He is very kind, and as long as you have him by your side, you will be fine._

You are sure of it?

I am positive.

For what seemed like the millionth time since she had entered the room, Lili hesitated. She then slowly inched forward and then hugged Arwen tightly.

Arwen smiled. She did not need words or speech to know what Lili was saying.

Thank you

* * *

"Ooh, nice study." Aria said, hopping up to sit on top of a desk.

"Get down." Aragorn told her.

She cocked her head to the side. "Do I have to?"

"He said to get off the desk!" Legolas snapped.

Both of them stared at him. Legolas never snapped. He may argue, but not lose his temper. He looked at his feet. "I'm sorry."

"Right." Aria slid off the desk.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you two is that I am concerned about all of your arguing. I don't think this journey will get very far if you keep picking at each other. I'm sure Lili will not enjoy watching you throw insults at one another. So, for the sake of her and for your own sanity, please negotiate some sort of truce until you get to Mirkwood." Aragorn instructed.

He looked at Aria, who looked at Legolas, who looked back at Aragorn. She looked at the floor, studying one of the tiles intently. She didn't want to say anything, but at the same time she knew that she _had_ to say something. She took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, I think this arguing is all my fault." Aria said, still looking at the floor. "You see, I had a brother once... Well, brothers and sisters tend to fight a lot. " She smiled softly. And then feeling a little bit braver, she looked up at them. "Legolas, you fight the same way as he did. You stay calm and collected, and counter accusations with facts. So, after I realized you and him fought the same way," she turned red. "I've been looking for reasons to argue with you... It's been sort of like having him back again."

Legolas almost forgot to blink. Not that he did it often anyway, but still. "May I inquire how your brother died?" He managed.

"In the Battle of Pellenor Field, along with my father." She wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry for causing so many problems around here lately. I just miss him, is all."

"I don't blame you. Losing a brother hurts."

"Faramir! Don't you have anything better to do than sneak around and spy on people's conversations?!" Aragorn exclaimed.

"No, not really." Faramir shook his head. "And I was not spying, I came to tell you that there's these two women who demand an audience. I think they're the girls mothers."

"And you couldn't use the front door to tell me this?!" Aragorn said exasperatedly.

"Secret passageways are more fun." Faramir said. "The women are in the throne room." With that, he left through the way he came in, which happened to be a door disguised as a bookshelf.

"Mom probably wants to remind me to pack my underwear or something stupid like that." Aria rolled her eyes.

"Well, you won't know unless you go talk to her." Aragorn said. "Let's go find Lili."

"Actually, Mom is probably paranoid Legolas will murder me and ravish Lili." Aria winked at the Elf as she went out the door.

"Don't stand there, you're coming too." Aragorn called over his shoulder to Legolas. "I am not facing two over-protective mothers by myself."

"Joy." He grumbled before following the King out. He frowned to himself. Did she just wink at him?

* * *

As the King and Elf Lord walked towards the throne room, two woman were already in the throne room. One was dark haired and one had lighter hair. One was healthy and one was not. One was standing and one was sitting. The two of them were so different, but they were friends and it showed. Their daughters were different, but they were friends too, so it didn't matter

To be quite honest, they hadn't meant to sound so rude when they had...asked...to see the King, but it was a matter of importance that needed to be taken care of.

And then all too quickly, the King appeared at his throne.

"You asked for an audience, and here I am. What can I do for you?"

The dark haired woman walked to stand behind the woman with the lighter hair as she was closer to the throne.

"I am truly sorry for seeming to be so rude." She said after giving a quick bow. "But Sarah, Lili's mother, needs to speak with Prince Legolas immediately. She looked at Aragorn and continued hesitantly, "Alone, if that's possible."

"May I ask what the topic of our conversation is going to be?" Legolas asked, coming out of behind the high chair. He had decided to come out a few minutes after Aragorn in case the two over protective mothers ended up yelling. He had also old Aria to wait there, so they could figure out they wanted.

He observed the two women that were in front of Aragorn. One looked healthy enough, but the other looked dreadfully thin. Her skin seemed to hang on her and her eyes seemed to have had the life pulled out of them

Sarah and the other woman let out a breath of relief. Legolas frowned inwardly. Had they really thought that he wouldn't talk to them? Where'd they get an idea like that?

Aria's mother looked over at Sarah once more and paused.

Sarah looked Legolas straight in the eye and smiled sadly. He found himself looking into a pair of life-less blue eyes that mirrored a certain sixteen-year-old's.

Sarah broke the gaze to look towards Aragorn.

"I'm dying."

Legolas' breath caught in his throat. He looked towards Aragorn, who looked just as shocked as he felt. This couldn't be good. Lili was just about to leave! They couldn't delay any longer either? This new...development brought up a whole slew of things that he didn't even want to think about. It was probably a good thing that he had made Aria stay in the back room. How would you react if you found out that your best friends mother was going to die?

He was also beginning to wonder what exactly what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

Note- And this is CB again. Whoo. Suspenseful ending, no? Um…yeah that's pretty much it for me…Review!

Oh-fireflydiamond. Um…I think that you mentioned in one review of MI that you lived in Maryland. Of course I can't go check and see if you actually said that because MI was taken down (sob) I'm okay…really…(sniffle). Anyway, um, hey what a coincidence, me and Liz and everybody in the MI Gang live in Maryland too. We just thought you might want to know that interesting tidbit…I'll go now…


	5. The Road Ahead

Note: And this is CB. I have nothing to say. At all. But Liz insisted upon having an author's note. So…hi. Sorry this took awhile, we have satanic slave-driving lunatic for teachers.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Road Ahead

After the initial shock, Aragorn had servant take Sarah and Legolas to a sitting room so they could talk. Aria's mother and Aria (who had finally come out from behind the chair, not knowing why Lili's mother had left) had stayed with Aragorn so Legolas and Sarah could have their privacy.

Legolas helped Sarah sit down, as it was clear that she needed it. The two of them sat across from each other in silence for a few minutes before Legolas said,

"I'm not sure what to say."

"The perhaps it is best if I spoke first." Sarah smiled sadly. "I only got sick right after Lili left to come here. That was barely a week ago. I don't know how it happened, it just did.. And I know I will pass on while Lili is with you, so I just wanted to ask you one thing." She looked up at him. "Could you promise me that'll you'll always watch over her."

Legolas was genuinely surprised. He should have expected her to say something along the lines of that, but he hadn't. But now that he thought about it, once they got to Mirkwood, what was he supposed to do? Abandon the two girls and go on with his life?

Sarah seemed to have guessed that he was having a major thought process on this, so she added gently,

"Aria will not always be there. She will most likely have to go on and live her own life eventually. But Lili will always need a friend to help her out, whether she will ever want to admit it or not. And that's all I'm asking you to do for her. To be a friend. You don't have to dedicate your life to her or anything, but just keep an eye out for her. Could you promise me that you'll always watch out for her?" The woman was almost begging, but Legolas would not let her do it.

He looked at her kindly and then smiled.

"I swear to it."

* * *

Meanwhile in the throne room, a very amused Aragorn was watching Aria talk to her mother very animatedly. Describing everything about life in the castle.

"It's really been fun. We had a pillow fight!" Aria exclaimed.

"I recall several other fights as well." Aragorn said from his throne.

Aria stuck her tongue out at him. "He was bothering me."

Aragorn rolled his eyes as her mother raised her eyebrows at her. "He?" her mother asked.

"Lord Legolas." Aria glanced at Aragorn, then turned away, and whispered. "I don't like him very much."

She didn't know Aragorn could hear her, what with him being a Ranger. Perhaps there were other reasons as to why she fought with him so much. He heard a crack behind him. Turning in his throne, he saw Legolas entering through a servants' door behind the throne. Legolas was about to say something, when Aragorn shushed him and pointed at Aria. 'Listen' he mouthed.

"Why don't you like him?" Aria's mother was asking.

"Because…he's an Elf." Aria gave a shrug. Legolas realized they were talking about him.

Her mother put her hands on her hips and glared at her daughter. "Aria, you sound like Aaron."

"Aaron had every right to hate Elves after what they did to him!" Aria cried, forgetting Aragorn was watching.

"Has this Legolas done anything to you?!" Her mother demanded.

"Excuse me?"

The women turned to look at Aragorn. Legolas was crouching behind the throne, so they did not see him. "Who is Aaron?" Aragorn asked.

"My brother." Aria snapped.

"And…why did he hate Elves?" Aragorn pressed. The more Legolas knew about Aria's hatred, the less they would fight, and their journey would be easy.

"They beat him up on his first day as a guard of the Citadel. It wasn't long after that the Nazgul started attacking the city." Aria told him. "You know…he really hoped you would come and be King so he could serve you. He didn't like Denethor much."

Aragorn tightened his grip on the arm of the throne. Her bother had not gotten to serve under a true king as he had wanted. Talk about your guilt trips. Behind the throne, Legolas was remembering something he'd long forgotten…

_Legolas did not really enjoy foreign relations and all the things he was forced to learn. In fact, it bothered him quite a bit that he was here, because he was BORED OUT OF HIS SKULL. But never mind what he wanted to do with the little free time he had. It didn't matter to his father now, and it probably never would. And that's why he was stuck in Gondor._

_Well, technically he was there because his father decided to be nice for a change and warn Denethor that trouble was stirring in the East. Thranduil wasn't about to go himself, so of course Legolas and his brother had to go instead. His brother because he was the heir to the throne, and Legolas because he needed to learn about foreign relations. Well, he wasn't learning at all. Not in the slightest._

_His eyes were searching for some reason to go off and be bored somewhere else, but so far he had come up with nothing. Then three Elves who had escorted Legolas and his brother to Gondor caught his eye. They were talking to a Guard of the Citadel. It was kind of a one-sided conversation because the man, as was his duty, was not showing any signs that he knew they were there._

_It took Legolas a moment to realize that the Elves weren't talking to the Guard, they were **taunting** him._

_"I bet he can't see right in front of his face." One jeered._

_"He must not, he's not talking to us. I bet he can't hear either!" Another exclaimed._

_"Lowly Man, I despise you. You are a disgrace to your kingdom." A third said, before pushing him. The man fell back against the wall, then straightened up, only to be pushed down again._

_And suddenly, Legolas couldn't hear the incessant droning of his brother and Lord Denethor. All he could hear was his heartbeat and his intake of breath. It seemed as if the Elves and the Man (he was a boy, really) were moving in slow-motion as the Elves shoved the boy to the ground and started kicking him. And Legolas watched on, knowing he should be doing something, but was doing nothing. Why?_

_It had only lasted about a minute and a half, but it had seemed like it had gone on forever._

_"Legolas?"_

_He snapped out of his revere and turned to who was talking to him. It was his brother._

_"Excuse me?"_

_"Legolas, are you alright?" his brother asked worriedly. "Does something ail you?"_

_"No, brother." Legolas said, tearing his eyes away from the poor boy on the ground. "Nothing is wrong." But something was wrong. Something was very wrong._

_The boy had done nothing. He had not said a word, or made a rude gesture, and yet those Elves had beaten him up. Elves were usually only rude like that to Dwarves, they didn't bother Men. But for no reason, they had picked on him._

_He watched as the other Elves left the boy on the ground. He slowly got up and resumed the position he had been standing in. Legolas could tell he was trying not to cry._

_A moment later, the Elves walked into the throne room. Legolas glared at them, hard and cold, but they must have assumed he was mad that they were late getting back. And thought Legolas wanted to shout at them and tell them they were disgracing the race of Elves, once again, he did nothing._

Behind the throne, Legolas fell back onto his haunches, shocked. Everyone heard the thump and looked around.

"What was that?" Aria asked.

"Er-" Aragorn tried to think.

"Sorry." Legolas said, coming out from behind the throne. "That confounded door would not close."

Aria narrowed her eyes, like she knew he had witnessed her brother's beating. He cringed.

"Where's Sarah?" Aria's mother asked.

"She went to find Lili." Legolas answered.

And so the day wore on, a wave of guilt overcoming Legolas every time he looked at Aria.

* * *

It was finally the day that the girls and Legolas were to leave for Mirkwood. The girls' mothers had left the night before, bidding them good bye, safe trip, and that sort of thing. Lili did not seem to notice the sadness in her mother's eyes as they said good-bye, not knowing this would be the last time they were together. Aria noticed however, but dismissed it as sadness that Lili was leaving.

Sunrise found the girls outside the palace. Aragorn and Arwen were going to see them off. Aria was half asleep and partly dead to the world, but Lili was wide awake and ready to leave.

"Be careful." Aragorn said, grasping Legolas' arm in goodbye. He glanced at the two girls. "Not all evil is gone from the world." He paused, and then continued more softly. "Always keep an eye out, especially in the mountains."

"Aragorn, I have made this journey before."

"But not with two girls in tow."

Legolas glanced at the two girls in question. Aria was falling asleep on her feet while Lili was fidgeting nervously. He smiled, amused. "I see what you mean."

Aragorn nodded as Arwen came forward to say good bye to one of her closet friends.

"Take care of yourself." She held him tightly. "And them, take care of those two also."

"And here I thought you had forgotten about us." Aria said, coming over in a momentary lapse of attentiveness, Lili (like always) trailing behind her.

"You? Never!" Arwen laughed and surprised Lili and Aria by giving them each very tight hugs.

"A life lived in fear is a life half lived, remember that." She whispered in Lili's ear. Lili of course didn't know that Arwen had said anything, but she had thought that she had heard some sort of whisper in her mind. Most likely her imagination.

"Give him hell." She whispered to Aria.

"I heard that!" Legolas exclaimed.

"Heard what? Did you hear anything Husband?" Arwen said innocently.

"Nope." Aragorn grinned.

"Can we leave now?" Legolas grumbled.

"You sound like an impatient Elfling." Arwen admonished him.

"What's an Elfling?" Aria asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

"Wait! What are you, my moth-"

Lili suddenly pulled on Aria's sleeve quite hard. She signed something.

"Oh, um… Lili wants to say something to you, Aragorn."

Lili stepped forward and Aria (for once) stood behind her and translated without drawing attention to herself.

"You can't even begin to imagine how grateful I am that you have helped me leave the cruelty of where I was. You have opened another door for me, and now maybe I can break free of the burden that's been placed on me since I was a child." She paused waiting for Aria to go on. It looked like Arwen was going to cry. And Aria noticed that somehow Faramir had appeared out of nowhere (as he was prone to do). "I know it may not mean very much coming from someone like me, but I want you to know that you all will have my love and respect for as long as I shall live." Aria paused for effect, and then said on her own account. "That goes for me too."

It took Aragorn three of his long strides to reach the two girls and to gather them into a hug.

"You are always welcome to come back, should you feel the need." He said. "And even if you don't want to, I am going to force you to."

Aria laughed and translated for Lili who also laughed.

"Be careful." Faramir said, coming closer. "Don't get into any trouble or else I'll have to come rescue you." He grinned at Legolas. "And that would be most embarrassing for our Elven friend over there."

"I do not look for trouble." Legolas replied easily. "Trouble finds me."

The three of them mounted their horses and rode away.

"How long until we get a letter from Legolas telling us to come get those demons we call girls?" Faramir asked.

"I'd say at least two weeks." Aragorn watched them until he could no longer see them.

"Two weeks?" Faramir snorted. "I'm giving them three days until they come back."

Arwen hit them both lightly on the shoulder. "What little faith the two of you have. Come, let's go eat breakfast."

* * *

They had been riding for barely fifteen minutes and a leisurely pave before Aria had to say something.

"What do you mean that trouble comes to you?"

Legolas groaned quietly. "Nothing….just forget it."

"No seriously! I don't feel very safe!" She turned in her saddle and looked behind them where The White City was still visible. "Is it too late to get another escort?!?!" She yelled behind her. "Can I have a new one?"

Legolas groaned louder and banged his fist against his forehead. (one of the many things he did not do very often)

Lili smiled at the antics of the two of them. _'This is going to be along journey.'_ She grinned wider. _'Long, but very enjoyable.'_

* * *

Note: Still CB. Yeah, nobody actually knows whether Legolas has a brother or not, but we're gonna pretend he does. Who knows what "A life lived in fear is a life half-lived" is from? If you know, you get a cookie! So…that's all. Until next time! 


End file.
